Cimetière Militaire Allemand de Saint Quentin

R.D. Walker338 Posts

August 11, 2017, 12:15 pm

Quote from R.D. Walker on August 11, 2017, 12:15 pm

That would be the German Cemetery of St. Quentin, France.

The Germans occupied St. Quentin for four years of World War I and were pretty brutal about it. They had a hospital there and many dead were buried in the region. The Germans established a cemetery and it was visited by the Kaiser in 1916.

After the end of the war, the French gathered German bodies from 98 cemeteries and buried them here. There were wooden crosses then.

Of course the Germans came back in 1940 and held the area until almost 1945. After World War II, the cemetery fell into disrepair. Only in the 1960s was it repaired. It is currently maintained with funds from a German organization.

I was kind of surprised that it didn't get bulldozed after WWII.

I was also surprised to see the Jewish markers. World War I was pre-Nazis but still...

That would be the German Cemetery of St. Quentin, France.

The Germans occupied St. Quentin for four years of World War I and were pretty brutal about it. They had a hospital there and many dead were buried in the region. The Germans established a cemetery and it was visited by the Kaiser in 1916.

After the end of the war, the French gathered German bodies from 98 cemeteries and buried them here. There were wooden crosses then.

Of course the Germans came back in 1940 and held the area until almost 1945. After World War II, the cemetery fell into disrepair. Only in the 1960s was it repaired. It is currently maintained with funds from a German organization.

I was kind of surprised that it didn't get bulldozed after WWII.

I was also surprised to see the Jewish markers. World War I was pre-Nazis but still...

You know, there are sure as hell no monuments to the Germans in any French park, town square, traffic circle or any other high visibility space. If there were one erected, I suspect it would be quickly torn down.

This cemetery and the monument within is allowed to exist in a quiet corner of St. Quentin. The cost of its maintenance is borne by Germans.

This makes sense to me.

You know, there are sure as hell no monuments to the Germans in any French park, town square, traffic circle or any other high visibility space. If there were one erected, I suspect it would be quickly torn down.

This cemetery and the monument within is allowed to exist in a quiet corner of St. Quentin. The cost of its maintenance is borne by Germans.